Gear I really, really like: Asolo TPS 520 GV boots

On occasion we at the Outdoor Blog get gear to test. Not a lot of gear, but usually some smaller items. (Dear Mountain Hardware, feel free to send us your “Ghost” model polar sleeping bag. Ditto to you Trek bicycles, regarding the Speed Concept 9 Team Series.)

While you can certainly get a good feel for a product by testing it for a few weeks, it’s over the long haul of months or years that something shows its true colors. In this spirit, I offer you gear I really, really like more and more as time goes on: my Asolo TPS 52o GV boots. (Note: These were not sent as a gear test – I bought them.)

First, there is the name. Yes, TPS are the reports in the movie Office Space. Asolo might want to think about changing it. Looking up the boots online, the acronym stands for Triple Power Structure, the technology in the boot. Triple Power Structure isn’t a bad band name, come to think of it.

Why I love them: I beat the tar out of my boots and these guys take it. They are as waterproof as they say, year after year. I wear them in summer and I wear them in winter and they work in both seasons.

Cost: They are pricey (about $289) and seemed like a splurge when I first bought them. Over the long haul, I’ve found they have lasted much longer than cheaper boots I’ve purchased in the past. Maybe they’re more of an investment than a splurge.

Durability: They last. It’s a testament to either their durability or my short-term memory, but I actually can’t remember when I bought my boots. It’s been a few years and they haven’t had an easy life. That’s a good sign.

5 Responses

Herb loves his boots so much, I really wanted a pair myself. Unfortunately, we have very different types of feet. His are big (and wide), mine are skinny. Asolo’s seem to be “high volume” boots, meaning they fit bigger feet better. I couldn’t get the women’s version of these boots tight enough on my foot to eliminate shifting. So, sadly, my quest for new hiking boots continues.

I stopped using boots a few years ago for everything except winter use. Too heavy, and once they get wet they stay wet for days. But, I do love my trail runners. I want my shoes to be as un-waterproof as possible so they can dry on the fly. The original shoes were the original Scott E-Ride grip. Yes, the same Scott that makes Ski/cycling equipment.

The newer version are more durable but don’t drain water as quickly. Luckily, they came out with a new shoe this year, the T2 Kinabalu.

The trail runner option is becoming a very popular choice. I do that once in a while also.

Once the weather is colder and on multi-day trips I still go with the heavier, dryer boots. I just like having dry feet. We couldn’t have had much wetter conditions that a few years ago on the Cranberry Lake 50 and my feet were dry and happy.

I also have wide feet, and wear Asolo boots. I have a pair of Asolo Fugitive GTX boots, and they are the best boots I have ever worn.

Last November I did a day hike of Table Top and Phelps on a 40 degree and rainy day. It didn’t stop raining, and the trails were quite wet with standing water in a few spots. I also wore a pair of gaiters. When I took my boots off at the end of the day, my socks were completely dry. No exaggeration.

I’ve also used trail runners, and sneakers on some pretty long hikes in the summer. At first I thought they were great, but found that my foot fatigue was much more by the end of the day (compared to heavier boots), mostly due to the fact that the rock-dominant Adirondacks wreaked havoc on the relatively thin soles of those types of shoes. I still wear sneakers on some “lighter-duty” hikes though.

Been hooked on the Columbia Bugaboot for several years now. Disc golf beats up footwear in a way not normally expected and these have held to the test well. Got lucky last Xmas and found a set on clearance at the Army/Navy store in Latham. Size 13s are not the most popular size so I grabbed them for 1/2 price even though my current pair still have another winter left in them.

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